Management position-what should the basic education requirement be?

SarasotaRN2b · Dec 23, 2004

I would think that both would be required to be a good manager. Having worked as a staff nurse will give you one view but I also think that education such as a Master's would be needed as well.

kitty=^..^=cat · Dec 23, 2004

I think it has as much to do with aptitude for leadership as anything else. Education will take you a long way, but unless you have the right mind-set, all the clinical experience and educational background in the world isn't going to make a difference.

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Jan 22, 2005

I think it has as much to do with aptitude for leadership as anything else. Education will take you a long way, but unless you have the right mind-set, all the clinical experience and educational background in the world isn't going to make a difference.

Very much liked your response.

Also great to have a realistic concept of where you can and should take the facility in the next year... five... or whatever. Of course, that depends on a number of variables... some / many of which may be beyond your direct / indirect control.

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Jan 23, 2005

This is a great question and I have to agree with kitty .... I think leadership is something that people are born with. Characteristics of a good leader are those things that make them an individual that people want to follow and want to work for. I certainly agree that education is necessary, but to be honest, I don't think a Master's degree is essential to be a nurse manager or a Nursing Director .... of course, if you are moving up the ladder and want to be the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), then perhaps a Master's is appropriate.

Not to negate education, but as a nurse manager or nursing director, I think it is important to be as close to the bedside as possible. Sometimes nurses that become nurse managers try to stay away from the bedside and this places a boundry between them and their nurses.

I have an ADN .... have worked as a nursing director for a number of years .... I am in school completing my bachelor's degree and will also finish my Masters. While I can see value in the education for myself, quite frankly, I have not changed my style of management. Actually, what I am learning in nursing managemenr/leadership classes are things that I have done for years. So, perhaps it depends on the person more than on the education.

stbernardclub · Jan 23, 2005

How about having some good old common sense!

renerian, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2005

People skills, a good listener, hands on been there experience. A well rounded degree. I have a masters degree but did plenty of management before I obtained that degree. I have met masters prepared managers who could not fight their way out of a paper bag and could not "take the hints" that their staff are dying out there. I would go on a person by person basis.

renerian

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 23, 2005

Can some people do a great job without formal education? Sure.

Are there other people who do a lousy job in spite of having a formal education? Sure

Formal education is a tool. If you take advantage of that education and use it wisely, it can help you do a better job ... but it is no guarantee of greatness in and of itself.

Also, formal education provides a publically sanctioned mechanism to convey information to the next generation and to "certify" that they have been exposed to that knowledge and passed whatever required tests, etc. are expected of someone in that profession. An individual might learn better through "self-study," but there would be no "official stamp of certification" by an educational institution.

Isn't that the case for every field?

ddd

donmomofnine · Jan 23, 2005

I have an associate degree. My best preparation for my job was raising nine kids!:chuckle Really!

BETSRN · Jan 23, 2005

This is a great question and I have to agree with kitty .... I think leadership is something that people are born with. Characteristics of a good leader are those things that make them an individual that people want to follow and want to work for. I certainly agree that education is necessary, but to be honest, I don't think a Master's degree is essential to be a nurse manager or a Nursing Director .... of course, if you are moving up the ladder and want to be the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), then perhaps a Master's is appropriate.
Not to negate education, but as a nurse manager or nursing director, I think it is important to be as close to the bedside as possible. Sometimes nurses that become nurse managers try to stay away from the bedside and this places a boundry between them and their nurses.
I have an ADN .... have worked as a nursing director for a number of years .... I am in school completing my bachelor's degree and will also finish my Masters. While I can see value in the education for myself, quite frankly, I have not changed my style of management. Actually, what I am learning in nursing managemenr/leadership classes are things that I have done for years. So, perhaps it depends on the person more than on the education.

I think your post is EXCELLENT! How do we get managers and directors back to the bedside and out of their ivory towers? I also agree that the ability to manage is a gift some have and some do not, no matter what their advanced degree is in. Thanks for your post!!

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Feb 1, 2005

i have an associate degree. my best preparation for my job was raising nine kids!:chuckle really!

i found your response to be amusing, yet true. i have 8 less children than you, and am only a house sup. so relatively speaking, i can relate at times :chuckle

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Feb 1, 2005

i think your post is excellent! how do we get managers and directors back to the bedside and out of their ivory towers? i also agree that the ability to manage is a gift some have and some do not, no matter what their advanced degree is in. thanks for your post!!

part of me thinks of that as i decide whether or not i would want to be a manager (or educator, for that matter) on a full time basis. i am currently per diem as staff and a supervisor (at different places), and i enjoy the variety. i don't feel that i am finished, clinically speaking. i also feels it keeps me in check with how 'the other half' lives. it keeps things in perspective for me.

after i complete my msn next year, i will most probably teach as an adjunct, and keep working on a unit, to keep up with the reality of the hospital.